A crash course in genealogy research

Our ancestors are totally essential to our every waking moment, although most of us don't even have the faintest idea about their lives, their trials, their hardships or challenges.

Annie Lennox

An afternoon with Nolene Lossau and all things genealogy

What a delight to spend time with Nolene Lossau.

She navigated me around the National Archives files in Pretoria, the Family Search website and FreeBMD a site which provides access to the Civil Registration index of births, marriages and deaths for England and Wales.

She opened my eyes to using Census data, it was all quite wonderful.

I look forward to doing research into my mother's family.

Nolene finding a gem for me, the existence of Edith Argyle, a little sister to my Nan.

One of the surprises of the afternoon was finding out that my maternal grandmother Nellie Winifred had an older sister, Edith Argyle.






Edith was born in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight to William and Katherine Argyle. She only lived for a few months and died on the 15th August 1898.

Nan was born the following year.

How interesting that William, after he was remarried to Fanny, named another little girl Edith.
She was my Godmother.

A remarkable teacher

Jennifer Soicher.

A remarkable teacher and the head of the Nursery School.

She was the life and soul of the Houghton Nursery School. There are very few teachers that I remember and she has stood out over all these years.

These were lovely years, both Fred and I got very involved. I chaired the PTA and we had the meetings here at home in Norwood.

The annual Fireworks evening was fun and Fred used to work so hard to make it a success.

I found this letter in my box today written on the 19th August 1993, from Jennifer, Shawni had been to visit the Nursery School. It was just after my Mom had died and she sends her thoughts to me. I notice with pride her comment about Shawni, 'what a lovely, young, polite lady she has grown into.'

I know.

The Nursery School years.

The experience of the weather

"Unseasonably cold.  

Snowing down south already! But clear blue skies and crisp cold. Feels like JHB.

Thank god our house is warm.

 The heat pump/aircon works like a dream."

These messages came from Shawni this morning about how she is experiencing the season change in Wellington, New Zealand and it got me remembering how frequently I wrote to Mom about my experiences of the seasons in Paris.

These photos of Shawni, either in her colour co-ordinated pale blue raincoat and wellingtons or her gorgeous red winter coat with its white fur trim and her black boots, tell the story of her braving the winter of 1986/7 in Paris.

I also tell Mom about the central heating in the house in Les Ombrage, 'Fred likened it to living in an igloo'. 

The house was warm all winter, in fact if we did not run the heating system the pipes would have frozen and burst.

Ice on the car windows, frost and ice covering the garden, and eventually the wonder of snow.

We had it all.

So Shawni, layer up like the forecast says - 4 clothing layers and 1 waterproof layer. Oh my you will look like the Michelin Man.

I loved the seasons in Europe, buying the right clothes and shoes was critical and we did not always get it right, but managed just fine.

A stash of Postcards

Portage Glacier, Alaska;  Pisa, Italy; Eden, New South Wales; Bathurst, New South Wales; Amalfi Coast, Italy; Whitsunday Islands, Great Barrier Reef; Sydney, Australia; Quebec, Canada; Namib Desert, Namibia; Yorkshire Dales, United Kingdom; Agincourt Reef, Great Barrier Reef; Daintree Rainforest, Queensland; Capri, Italy; Canberra, Australia; Ulladulla-Mollymook, Australia; Gold Coast, Queensland; Whistler, Canada; Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales.

The joy of travel reflected in postcards sent to Dad while he was living in this flat in Amanzimtoti.

Cards from his family.

I have kept them in a serviette holder as he did and have enjoyed browsing through them this evening.

There are 3 cards that stand out for me:

Fred and I are in Quebec at the quite fabulous Chateau Fontenac Hotel. Having a martini at the the bar with a view across the St Lawrence River.

This was part of a 2 month trip during June and July 2006. We travelled across Canada having adventures and celebrating my 50th.

I wrote that we had seen Minke and Beluga Whales the day before.

Inel, Shawni and I in Sydney together in July 2007.

I took Shawni to Australia for 3 weeks to celebrate the delightful young woman she had become, she finished her degrees that November.

Inel writes that the Sydney sights have been superb and that it is lovely to see Shawni and me.

I write about the koalas at the Zoo, a show we saw, which would have been 'Pricilla Queen of the Desert' and having lovely times together.

And Shawni says 'Hi Grumps, having such a great time....'

The final card, in Doreen's gorgeous handwriting, is her writing from the Whitsunday Islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

She says the days are perfect and she is with Inel, Guy, Jason, Carmie and Jossie, having an amazing island experience.

They snorkel, walk and she is loving her sister time and this was an amazing holiday in 2010 celebrating her 40th birthday.

The amount of life in these postcards is simply wonderful.

Janet's Easter Tree

I am delighted to have found this old photo, even if it's not a particularly good photo, but it shows the Easter Tree that Janet made for our weekend together in the Black Forest in 1987.

My letter talks about this German tradition and Jan replicated the tradition, branches decorated with ribbons and hanging Easter eggs. 

I wish that we had continued this, I like the whole idea of the Easter tree. 

So Shawni loved chocolate then and Barry less so, it seems to me those rolls have reversed over the years. 

What has not changed is that all the Wedderburn girls still love their chocolate, as does my father. He has a stash next to his bed in frail care and never says no, particularly to a Kit Kat.

Fred has two Lindt Bunnies ready for Sunday and our Easter visit with Dad.

Easter and cousins having fun.

An Easter farm stay near Furtwangen, Germany

Our farmhouse stay near Furtwangen, Germany,

Brothers Fred and Henk.

Brothers Fred and Henk, sharing an Easter weekend together in Germany, April 1987.

Fred working in France and Henk in Germany.

Such a special time for us all. Jan and I were able to share times together while the boys were working in Europe, a Christmas in the UK, an Easter in Germany and times in Paris too.

Our friendship with Henk and Janet has been a constant over many decades, our children growing up together and its a friendship I really value.

The farmhouse animals living on the ground floor of the main house is a memory that has stuck.

I am amused by my comment to Mom that 'Shawni enjoyed the smaller animals but was intimidated by the huge diary cows.' Knowing myself, I would have been just as intimidated.

A Postcard from Germany

I am at the Loft window, looking out across the fields below us and a beach walk is beckoning. The Easter traffic is building up and is a constant hum in the background.

I have a postcard sent to Mom. It is the Easter of 1987, we drove to the Black Forest in Germany to join Henk, Janet and little Lexi for the long weekend.

Henk was working in Karlsruhe, Germany at that point. Time to find some of the photos of the trip and see what I wrote to Mom when we got back.